


They

by Jathis



Category: Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Genre: Body Image, Gen, Genderfluid Character, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-07 22:28:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21465544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jathis/pseuds/Jathis
Summary: Stanley finds a word that properly fits





	They

He stared at his reflection in the mirror and he didn’t know why he wished he saw something else. He turned his head one way then the other, finding no stubble or stray hairs after his morning shave. His sideburns were perfectly shaped, framing his face the way he liked it to be. Even his hair was curled properly, forming a kind of heart on top of his head. His vest and shirt were immaculate, he had even polished the buttons on the vest the night before. But Stanley still felt like something is missing. 

He had been feeling like that a lot lately. He kept these thoughts from Dick and Tom; he didn’t want them to think him abnormal. Sometimes he talked to the Bimbettes about it and although they were supportive and tried to help him, he knew that they didn’t really understand what he was feeling. 

_ Stanley _ didn’t even know what he was feeling.

He stared at his reflection and he tried to find what was wrong. There was just a feeling of...of not being completely somehow. He knew that he liked dressing up with the Bimbettes but he also liked wearing breeches and having his sword strapped to his side. It was as if he were both and neither at the same time.

After another moment’s consideration, Stanley picked up the scarf the Bimbettes had given to him as a gift after catching him trying on the women’s accessories. He tilted his head up, looking into the mirror as he tied it around his throat, covering his adams apple and most of his neck in the process.

This felt...right. Stanley smiled at their reflection, running his hands over the silk scarf. He didn’t feel quite so incomplete. He didn’t even feel like a “he”. He also didn’t feel like a “she”. Stanley was something else, both and neither…

They.

The sudden thought made them blink in surprise. Yes, that’s what Stanley felt like. That was the word that made them feel comfortable in their skin. Stanley was a they, someone who could be one or the other, both, or neither as they saw fit. The thought made them smile at their reflection.

“Foundling! Are you almost done preening in there, lad?!”

“The baby Jesus doesn’t care if your hair isn’t curled just the way you like it!”

“Worse than a woman sometimes…” Tom and Dick stood in the doorway of Stanley’s bedroom. They shook their heads, Dick laughing as he reached out and took Stanley by the arm, pulling them away from the mirror. “Let’s go before we miss the service!” he said.

“You’re doing the Hail Marys if we get in trouble with Père Robert,” Tom said.

Stanley laughed, shaking their head. “I’m sure we have plenty of time before service starts,” they said.

Dick snorted, flicking the end of Stanley’s nose. “Vanity is a sin, foundling,” he warned.

“If that’s true then I’m sure God is more focused on Gaston than anyone else in this village,” they snorted and both Tom and Dick burst into laughter.

“Don’t let him hear you say that,” Tom warned.

“Oui, we don’t need Gaston trying to kill our foundling because of their big mouth.”

Stanley just hummed and smiled, idly running their hand over their scarf where it covered their throat.


End file.
